By My Side
by Shironira
Summary: In the New World, the Straw Hats meet an old adversary whom they hate to the core! A fierce fight erupts and it leads to Luffy and Nami being captured! What will happen to those two in a jail cell? Will Luffy discover a whole new side to Nami? Join Luffy and Nami in By My Side to find out the events that will happen between them. Read and review please. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey guys! This is my first ever Fanfiction and I decided to base it on LuNa! Hope you guys can read and leave some reviews. I accept negative reviews, but it would be much appreciated if some constructive feedback is left behind too so I can improve as a write. Enjoy and hope you all like it!

 **Chapter 1: The Surprise Attack**

It was just another normal day on board the Thousand Sunny. Luffy, Ussop and Chopper were playing a game of tag, their screams of joy filling the whole ship. Franky was making a piano for Brook in the aquarium, while Brook was by his side commenting on Franky's remarkable skills. Sanji was in the kitchen preparing for lunch, while Zoro was training in the Crow's Nest. Nami was tending to her mikans, while Robin was on the deck reading a book.

Suddenly, Nami felt a tap on the shoulder. She jumped in shock, turning around to find the captain behind her with a wide grin on his face. "Luffy! Don't scare me like that!" Nami yelled as she gave Luffy a huge punch on the head. Luffy fell to the ground comically, all the while mumbling "Sorry…Sorry…". " What's the matter  
?" Nami asked Luffy. "Is it just me, or is the sky getting darker by the minute?" Luffy asked. _Wow, even though our captain might be an idiot, he sure is observant,_ Nami thought. Nami nodded and addressed the crew. "Mina! A huge fog is approaching, and it will reduce our visibility by a lot. Stay alert!" "Haaaaaai Nami-swaaaaaan! I will protect you and Robin-chwan if anything happens!" Sanji cooed. Nami sweatdropped at Sanji's antics. "Nami can I have a mikan?" Luffy asked, revealing his true intentions for approaching Nami. "They are not ripe yet Luffy, maybe later." Nami explained. Luffy pouted childishly, and with a parting "Bleh!", he ran off to ask Sanji for some food.

Slowly, the Thousand Sunny became engulfed by the thick fog. They crew could barely see in front of them. The crew was now huddled in the dining area, with the exception of Zoro who was still training in the Crow's Nest. The crew was playing cards and they were enjoying themselves, laughing and shouting. Sanji was preparing for lunch in the kitchen. Suddenly, Luffy who was thinking of what card to play next, abruptly threw his cards down and ran for the exit of the dining area. "NANI?" The rest of card players exclaimed. Clank! Sanji had also dropped his pan and was dashing towards the exit, just behind Luffy. The rest of the crew, curious as to what was going on, followed the two.

Luffy had sensed the cannonballs flying towards them through his Kenbunshoku Haki, with Sanji realizing a split second later. **Gomu Gomu No Fuusen!** Luffy's body inflated as he jumped onto the path of the incoming cannonballs, deflecting them back. **Sky Walk!** Sanji has dashed up into the sky and kicked away the remaining cannonballs that had gotten past Luffy. The rest of the crew watched in awe as they could only see the cannonballs just as it was about to hit the ship due to the thick fog. Suddenly, they saw a shirtless Zoro jump out of the Crow's Nest, with two swords unsheathed. "What is he thinking, jumping out shirtless like that?" exclaimed Nami. Zoro somersaulted in mid air and parried a long distanced slash aimed at the ship which had just became visible. The monster trio landed on the deck. By now, everyone had heard the commotion and came out to the deck. "Shishishi! Looks like we are under attack," Luffy announced to the crew with a big grin on his face. "Suits me, my swords are itching for some blood," Zoro said with a demonic grin. "Can't they do it after I finish cooking?" complained an irritated Sanji.

Just then, a fleet of three Marine warships appeared beside the Sunny. A man jumped of the Marine ship and landed on the Thousand Sunny. The crews' eyes widened out of shock and a tinge of fear. They had not been expecting someone of his caliber to be out personally just to catch them on this surprise attack. Bad memories started flooding back to the crew, bad memories of their defeat back in Sabaody Archipelago. They were utterly and completely defeated by the man standing in front of them right now.

"KIZARU!" The Straw Hats exclaimed in unison.

"My…My… There is no need to look at me with such hatred you know. I came due to orders from higher ups." Kizaru drawled lazily. "I will not let what happened two years ago repeat itself," Luffy told him in a serious voice. His hat was now covering his eyes, symbolizing his seriousness. " _My friends, my nakama, I will protect them all! That was what the past two years was for_!" Luffy yelled. "Mina, go and take care of the remaining soldiers on the warships. I will take him on." The rest of the crew, even though worried for Luffy, decided to follow his orders. They jumped onto the warships and started counterattacking. _Luffy, please be alright…_ Nami thought as she took out her Clima Tact.

Back on the Thousand Sunny

"I didn't really want to come after you again you know, but Sakazuki wanted me to. I hope you understand," Kizaru explained in his lazy drawl. Luffy tensed up at the mention of the man who killed his brother. Suddenly, Kizaru disappeared and reappeared beside Luffy at the speed of light, bringing a kick up to Luffy's forehead. **Busoshoku Haki!** Luffy clad his arm with Haki and blocked Kizaru's kick. Suddenly, Luffy's body erupted in steam. Sssssss… Kizaru was exchanging blows with Luffy in mid-air. Kizaru was flashing around at the speed of light, but Luffy, having gotten considerably stronger, was having little trouble catching up. They were relentlessly assaulting each other, exchanging blows which shook the seas around them. Suddenly, Kizaru turned into his logia form and emitted a bright light from his body. _Damn it…_ Luffy thought. He was now unable to see due to the blinding light from Kizaru. Suddenly, he felt Kizaru reappear in front of him. _Shit!_ Luffy knew he would not be able to escape this attack. Kizaru imbued his foot with Haki and kicked Luffy in the shin. Luffy flew backwards and hit the mast. When he finally regained his vision, he felt blood in his mouth and spit it out. However, Kizaru did not wait for Luffy to regain his senses fully before attacking. He turned into light and travelled to the top of the mast. **Yasakani no Magatama!** Kizaru crossed his hands in front of him and fired a deadly torrent of light bullets at a still dazed Luffy, The light bullets can tear through people easily, and there was no way Luffy could defend this attack.

Just as all seems over, a flash of green appeared. **Santouryuu: Tatsumaki!** A tornado was generated and it slashed and parried all the light bullets away. In the middle of the tornado stood Roronoa Zoro, with all three swords unsheathed. "Oi Luffy! If you don't get up you're gonna die to this bastard!" Luffy, upon hearing this, blinked a few times before springing up to his feet. "YOSH! I'm back and roaring to go!" Luffy declared, "Let's take him on together!"

Kizaru, on the other hand, sighed. _Another enemy to deal with… this is not going to be easy._ " **Ama no Murakumo!** " He screamed. Kizaru formed a long, very sharp sword out of light and solidified it. "Didn't really want to use my sword here…but it couldn't be helped." Without warning, Zoro leaped up and slashed out at Kizaru. Kizaru managed to parry it easily, but Zoro followed up with a series of slashes. Clink! The sound of swords clashing echoed throughout the seas. Zoro's impressive swordsmanship skills were keeping up with Kizaru, an admiral. Zoro knew that if they continued sparring, it could go on for days. _Time to show him what I'm really made of._ In a flash, Zoro jumped up, gaining some leverage on Kizaru. **Busoshoku Haki!** A demonic aura started to appear on Zoro's blades. **Santoryuu: Ul-Tora Gari!** Zoro swung his swords in a forward descending slash, with an aura of a tiger following. _This attack… It's pretty strong!_ Kizaru thought. He had to exert himself in order to parry the blow.

 **Gomu Gomu no: Jet Bazooka!** Kizaru felt an attack coming, but he was sent flying before he even had a chance to dodge. Luffy had jumped up in his Gear Second form and had sent a devastating bazooka towards Kizaru as he as busy fending off Zoro's attacks. Kizaru flew NOT faster than light but still fast all the same. He hit the ground headfirst, and his forehead started to bleed. He wiped some blood from his mouth and said," My, my. You punks should really know where you stand." He turned into light and reappeared at the top of the mast again. "ZORO! CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Zoro, trusting his captain completely, immediately shut his eyes. Kizaru emitted a blinding light again, but this time Zoro and Luffy had their eyes shut. It had no effect. **Yasakani no Magatama!** Kizaru sent out a torrent of light bullets again. **Kenbunshoku Haki!** Luffy and Zoro could now sense the presence of Kizaru's attack. They both jumped up, and flew towards the top of the mast at great speed, twisting and turning their bodies to dodge each and everyone of Kizaru's light bullets. **Busoshoku Haki!** Luffy clad his fists in Haki while Zoro clad his swords. " **Gomu Gomu no: Jet Gatling Gun!** " Luffy screamed as he launched his attack towards Kizaru. " **Santoryuu Ogi: Ichidai Sanzen Daisen Sekai!** " Zoro yelled. Luffy delivered tons of punches to Kizaru, who had no time to dodge as he was launching his attacks. Meanwhile, Zoro delivered massive slashes to him one after another relentlessly, Kizaru took these attacks head-on, and he fell from the mast. Kizaru was now reduced to a bloodied pulp. He had swollen and sore spots everywhere, while every single part of his body was covered in slashes, courtesy of Zoro. Needless to say, Kizaru was now bleeding profusely. Luffy and Zoro had beaten an admiral.

"STOP!" A voice yelled from the marine ship. "What?" Luffy and Zoro said in unison as they looked up. Luffy's eyes immediately grew wider in anger as he saw the scene before him. In front of him stood a Marine vice-admiral, holding Nami with one arm, while pointing a katana at her throat with the other. "I am Vice-Admiral Nuro! If you don't want her to die, return Admiral Kizaru now! We have the rest of your crew too, so release Admiral Kizaru at once. And you will allow yourself to be exchanged for her, Mugiwara Luffy!" _THIS BASTARD! IF I GET MY HANDS ON HIM I'LL TAKE HIM OUT MYSELF!_ Luffy thought in anger. Luffy unleashed a wave of Haoshoku Haki at Nuro. The only effect it had was making Nuro laugh. "HAHAHAHA! Your Haki is not strong enough to take me down yet! Make another attack and you will bid your goodbyes to your fellow crewmates! Just come already, you can't win this battle." Just then, tears started streaming down Nami's face. "Gomen… Luffy. He can turn invisible and caught us off guard. Please.. don't-" "Say no more, Nami. I'll go," Luffy said in a serious tone. He held both arms out to be cuffed.

The crew was returned, and Luffy was in captivity. Being dirty as usual, Nuro took Nami too. He threw them into a small cell on the Marine ship and sailed away, leaving the Thousand Sunny in the distance.

 **A/N:** Hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, sorry there isn't much LuNa yet but this is the buildup. Sorry if you guys think I made Kizaru too weak, but after timeskip Luffy and Zoro should be strong enough right? Remember to leave a review and I will decide the length of this fanfic based on the number of reviews. Signing off, Shironira-kun.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello guys! I am back! First of all, I sincerely apologize to all readers for making you wait so long for the second chapter. My life has been a bit screwed up lately and I did not have time to write. Now I finally sorted my problems out and I assure you that updates will be more regular. Secondly, thanks to all those who took time to read the chapter and review. I present to you a new chapter, and, as usual, remember to read and review!**

 **Chapter 2: An Unexpected Visitor**

"ACEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Luffy screamed as he was jolted awake. He was drenched in sweat as he sat upright. He looked around frantically before he was calmed down by the sight of a certain orange haired girl beside him. The night was so silent that the only sounds that could be heard was the waves lapping on the ship and the heavy panting of Luffy.

Nami awoke with a start when she heard the anguished scream of Luffy. She saw Luffy looking left and right as if trying to find his bearings. She immediately reached out for Luffy's hand and squeezed it, trying to let him know she was here. It unnerved her to see her captain in such a panicked state. "Luffy… it's ok. I'm here," she said soothingly.

"But… my brother…" Luffy cried.

Nami pulled Luffy closer to her and wrapped her arms around him. "It's ok… you still have us, remember Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook. We will never leave you alone," she consoled as she stroked Luffy's hair.

Luffy calmed down a little and squirmed until he found a comfortable position in Nami's embrace. "Thank you, Nami. Why are you hugging me though?" he asked curiously.

Nami blushed a tint of red as she realised that she had done it in the spur of the moment. "Erm… people hug when they try to comfort someone else," she tried to make up an excuse. Luckily, Luffy believed it.

"Ah, I see. You should do it more though, it feels nice when you do it to me," Luffy whispered.

Nami blushed even harder at this statement. "If I do it often, it won't feel nice when I do it anymore," she said.

"Hmm, I suppose you are right. Can you read me a story please?" Luffy asked,

Nami was not like Usopp. She did not have lots of stories to tell, and she doesn't possess the talent to make up stories easily. Thus, she decided to tell a story which she had enjoyed when Bellemere-san told it to her.

"Once upon a time…" she began.

A dozen minutes passed, and when she was halfway through the story, she realised that Luffy had fallen into a deep sleep and was leaning against her chest.

 _He looks kind of cute when he sleeps, with that innocent face,_ she thought.

Enjoying the warmth from Luffy, she closed her eyes and fell into a happy slumber.

xxOxx

Nami opened her eyes groggily and discovered that Luffy was still sleeping soundly on her chest. She discovered some food and water placed near the door and decided that it was time to wake Luffy up for a meal.

"Luffy, wake up," she said as she gently shook him.

"Go away… five more minutes," Luffy whined.

Nami smiled at this and decided to give him a bit more sleep. She thought about the crew. How were they doing right now? Were they chasing the Marine ship? Were they trying to rescue them? She hoped that they would stay safe and eventually find a way to get them out of this place.

She then surveyed the cell. She did not do it the night before as she was fatigued from the battle and slept immediately after being thrown in the cell. The cell was quite spacious, however, it was very barren. The big space had nothing but a small hole for a toilet in one corner. There were no tables, no beds, no windows. There was a door for access to the cell, and a small hole at the bottom of the door for food to be delivered. There were no visible cameras, but she was positive that they were being watched.

Guilt was eating at her. She was the one who got Luffy captured, all because she was not alert enough to sense the presence of that stupid Vice Admiral that can turn invisible. She had been used as a hostage to subdue the rest of the Straw Hats, and eventually Luffy.

 _What if we die here? Luffy's dreams would have ended because of me_ , Nami thought.

No, that will not happen. That cannot happen. They will survive through this.

Nami felt a movement from her chest and Luffy sat up slowly. He rubbed his eyes and stared at Nami for a few seconds before greeting, "Good morning, Nami."

Nami, being depressed from her thoughts, forced a smile and said, "Good morning, Luffy. There is food over there." She gestured towards the door.

Upon hearing about food, Luffy sprang to his feet and dashed to the food, and brought them back to Nami.

"Look Nami, there are two bowls of rice and two pieces of meat! One for you and one for me," Luffy said childishly.

Luffy passed a bowl of rice and a spoon to Nami before he began to gobble down his food.

Before Nami had even started on hers, Luffy had already finished his rice and meat.

He patted his tummy and exclaimed, "That was delicious! A bit little though…"

Nami knew that Luffy normally ate food enough to fill five people in a meal, and that Luffy definitely would not be filled with just a bowl of rice.

"Luffy, would you like my share too? I am not that hungry."

"Really? Thank you, Nami!" Luffy said with glee before devouring Nami's portion of food.

Truth was, Nami was ravenous. She had not eaten anything for almost a day. However, she could not bear to see a hungry and glum Luffy. It made her happy when Luffy was happy too.

"Ahh! I'm stuffed. Thank you Nami!" Luffy grinned.

Nami smiled and waved away his thanks. Suddenly, she her bladder bursting and she got the urge to pee.

"Luffy, can you please look the other way?" Nami requested shyly.

"Why?" Luffy replied curiously.

"I… um… have to pee," she told Luffy.

"Meh, can't I watch?"

"OF COURSE NOT YOU BAKA!"

"Meh… fine."

Luffy turned and stared at the wall as Nami went to attend to her business.

After she was done, she beckoned for Luffy to sit down in front of her. She wanted to have a talk with him to try and settle down her feelings.

"Luffy, I am so sorry," Nami apologised.

Luffy tilted his head and asked, "What for?"

"I got captured, and that Vice Admiral used me to capture you. I know you like freedom, Luffy and it must be tough being in a cell, and you did nothing to deserve this. Sorry, Luffy, for taking away your freedom." Nami cried.

"Nami. I chose to come here. I would not let my precious navigator suffer alone. It's not your fault Nami." Luffy said seriously.

"But what if we die here? Your hopes and dreams will be gone, because of me!" Nami screamed.

Luffy looked at Nami in the eye and said with conviction, "We won't die here. We will pull through this, together."

"Oh Luffy…" Nami sobbed. She leaned onto Luffy and hugged him tightly, resting her head on his chest. Nami felt safe as Luffy wrapped his arms around her. His steady heartbeat and the heaving of his chest made her feel comfortable.

They stayed in that position for a long time, both realising how blessed they were to have each other.

xx0xx

After what seemed like ages, Luffy and Nami were interrupted by the door opening. A guard appeared and announced, "You have visitors."

Luffy and Nami looked at each other and wondered who knew they were here and who could be visiting them.

The man who appeared was the last man they had expected to see. The man's muscles bulged against his white coat and his pants looked as if they were about to be ripped from his huge leg muscles. He had white hair and he was smoking two cigarettes at the same time.

"Oh, Smokey, long time no see!" Luffy greeted cheerily.

The man was Vice-Admiral Smoker, the man who had chased Luffy throughout the Grand Line, but ultimately was not the one who caught him.

The door closed and Smoker sat down on the cold floor.

"To be honest, I did not expect you to be captured by Nuro," Smoker began.

"Well, we got careless. It's fine," Luffy grinned.

"It is such a sad story for me. I chased you to the ends of the Earth, but the one who caught you is not me, but my longtime rival in the Marines, Nuro," Smoker sighed.

"It's ok Smokey, you are way cooler than that idiot Vice Admiral," Luffy laughed.

Smoker actually cracked a small smile upon hearing that. Smoker then said, "Time to get down to what I actually came for. As you might have guessed, this ship is travelling to Impel Down right now. I'd say you have about three more days before you arrive. I know you have escaped that place before, but if you enter there again, I guarantee you that Magellan will never let you out of his sights."

Luffy took on a more serious tone and requested, "I know. Smokey, can you please do me a favour?"

Smoker narrowed his eyes at Luffy, debating whether to help him or not. In the end, he said, "All right. This is to repay you for what happened at Punk Hazard."

He then motioned for Luffy to move closer as they were being watched. Luffy whispered a few words into Smoker's ear before Smoker stood up and headed for the door.

Smoker's parting words were, "Consider it done. Good bye, Straw Hat. It has been a good adventure."

xx00xx

As Luffy and Nami lay side by side on the cold hard floor of the cell, Nami asked softly, "What did you ask Smoker to do?"

Luffy smiled and replied that it was nothing much and that she would find out eventually. With that, they shut their eyes and entered Dreamland.

xx00xx

Meanwhile on the Thousand Sunny

The atmosphere on the ship was solemn and gloomy as the crew members worried about their captain and navigator. Zoro had been naturally put in charge in the absence of Luffy and he had requested for Robin to use his Vivre Card of Luffy to navigate the Sunny to catch up with the Marine ship. The journey was torturous as the crew members became increasingly reserved and hardly talked to each other.

"2005…2006…2007" Zoro muttered as he lifted a metal weight that was twice his size. He knew he was in charge now, but a person like him would not be able to lift the spirits of the crew. As such, he had tried to take his mind off things through training and meditating, but it did not seem to be very effective. _Dammit… I hope they are ok…_

Sanji was in the kitchen preparing dinner for the crew. He still upheld his responsibilities as a cook to feed the crew, although mealtimes became increasingly quiet. There was no Luffy to keep the table alive by trying to steal their food. Some of the crew members even wasted their food as they could not find the appetite to finish it. Normally, Sanji would have given them a telling off and forced them to finish it, but now, Sanji was as worried as them. _Luffy… Nami-swan… please be safe._

Ussop and Chopper had lost all the playfulness in them. They could not bear to have fun without Luffy. They missed Luffy running around the ship and his playful antics. They missed being able to laugh and scream with Luffy. They wanted Luffy back as soon as possible to bring back all the fun times. _Luffy… come back soon._

Robin was worried. For the first time in her whole life, she had someone to be worried about. A family whom she truly cared about. She was worried about Luffy. She had read about punishments of the World Government to pirates with such high bounties, and most of it led to a slow and painful death. Something which she had inflicted on others before. Seeing how her victims screamed and shrieked, she wished that Luffy would not be put through the same treatment.

Franky was trying to put aside his worry by building more and more upgrades for Sunny. He wanted to build so many things that Luffy would be drooling over his gadgets when he came back. To be honest, he was scared. He was very scared that the captain which he chose to follow would suffer the same fate as Tom. _Luffy, promise me you will be back to look at all my awesome inventions._

Brook was also in a solemn mood. The man who had let him see the light again was in captivity and risked death. He had tried to compose a few new songs to keep himself upbeat, but all of his songs were not to his usual standard and he just discarded the music scores. He was too worried about Luffy and Nami to even focus. _Please… let me play music for you forever…_

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Once again, I sincerely apologize for taking so long to update. Updates will be more regular now as I finally got my life sorted out. Now, I am wondering if I should make them enter Impel Down or not. If I do this story would be quite a long one. Well, remember to review! If you dislike something that I am doing, please tell me, and I will try my best to make reading this fic a more enjoyable experience. Until next time! Signing off, Shironira-kun.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello guys! I'm back with another chapter. I would like to thank all of you who bothered to give this fic a read, and even better, review! Before we begin, I would like to request that you guys give my other fanfic Legion of the Gods a read! That story is mostly on adventure, but it will include elements of LuNa as well. I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter. Read and review!**

Chapter 3: Desperate Attempts for a Sick Girl

Luffy and Nami had adapted and were used to living in their spacious yet barren cell. Even though there were no furniture in the room, she was glad that the space was big as she has slight claustrophobia, courtesy of Arlong locking her inside a room and forcing her to draw maps.

Every morning… was it morning? They had no way of knowing since they did not have a way to tell the time. They would be fed three times a day, and most of their time in the cell was spent either sleeping or telling stories to each other. With that, the bond between Luffy and Nami was stronger than ever.

Luffy would tell Nami about his adventures with Shanks, while in exchange, Nami would tell Luffy her stories of childhood with Bellemere. However, Nami still harboured feelings of guilt. Despite already having a talk with Luffy, Nami still felt really guilty of possibly ending Luffy's dream by forcing him to be exchanged for her life. After having another fun-filled storytelling session with Luffy, she decided to bring it up again.

"Say, Luffy, what if we die here?" Nami asked softly.

"We won't, don't worry," Luffy said with conviction.

"I know we won't… But what if we really do?" Nami persisted in her questioning.

Luffy did not even hesitate before grinning, "Then I'm happy to die here. At least I will be with you. "

Nami's eyes watered up upon realizing that her captain would be content as long as he was with her. Nami pulled Luffy into her embrace and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you…" Nami whispered.

"Hey, you are hugging me again. It feels really nice," Luffy commented as he shut his eyes and laid down on Nami's lap.

"Go to sleep, rubber brain, I don't do it often," Nami smiled.

However, unknown to her, the last thing the raven haired boy lying on her lap saw before he sunk into a deep sleep was her beautiful face which had one of the brightest smiles.

 **XXX**

Luffy woke up feeling cold. Wait… cold? Luffy fell asleep on Nami's lap, but he had somehow gotten onto the cold hard floor. He looked to Nami and saw her sprawled out onto the ground. Her busty chest was moving up and down quickly, and her cheeks were flushed red.

Of course, Luffy did not suspect anything was wrong with her. His attention was diverted from Nami by the sight of two bowls of rice with two pieces of meat on each bowl of rice placed by the door. Luffy's first instinct was to gobble his portion down, but he remembered that for the past few mealtimes, Nami had waited patiently until he was awake before they had their meal together. Therefore, Luffy decided to wake Nami up.

He tried tapping her, he tried pushing her, he tried lifting her, but none of these methods got a reply from Nami. "Nami, wake up already! Are you going to sleep forever?" Luffy said, annoyed by the fact that Nami was not waking up. "And what is wrong with your face? It is as red as Buggy's nose!" Luffy remarked.

Seeing as Nami was not replying, Luffy started to get worried. "Is Nami ignoring me?" he pondered out loud. He concluded that was not it as Nami would rather scream and beat him up rather than ignore him.

"Hmmmm… Ah!" Luffy exclaimed, "Back at that ancient island, Nami was also like that. Chopper said she was… suck? sock?... Sick!"

Luffy's eyes widened as he remembered Chopper saying that she could have died. He did not want her to die, and he did not know what to do now that Chopper was not by his side.

"Oi, Nami, I will give you my share of meat if you wake up," Luffy said in a desperate attempt to wake her up. Despite Luffy's efforts, Nami showed no sign that she heard whatever Luffy was saying.

Luffy thought about it for a moment. Since he was unable to help Nami himself, his only other option was to get help from the Marines. Without hesitation, he threw himself towards the only door of the cell. As soon as he came into contact with the door, he immediately fell to the ground. The door was made of Sea Stone, and it greatly weakened him when he touched it. The sound his banging made was barely audible. He tried to scream instead, but days with little water had made his throat parse and he was unable to scream loudly. His efforts were to no avail.

"Damn it… I won't give up so easily!" Luffy thought, determined to get help for his navigator. He pushed himself up from the ground and slammed on the door again. Despite falling many times, he continued slamming on the cell door, in hope that a guard would hear the small noise he was making.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes turned into hours, yet no one responded to Luffy's banging and screams. Luffy was getting more desperate by the minute, as he was worried that Nami's condition would worsen.

After what felt like eternity, Luffy finally heard a gruff voice call out from the other side of the cell door. "What's the matter, pal?"

"Please help me! Nami's sick," Luffy pleaded.

Luffy was greeted with no reply, and thus he decided to try again.

"Please, she is really precious to me. Please get a doctor to tend to her," Luffy begged.

"I have no control over this matter. Give me a moment while I call Vice-Admiral Nuro over," the guard outside said.

Luffy went back to Nami's side and held her protectively in his arms. "Stay with me, Nami. Navigate the seas for me once more," Luffy whispered as he stared at Nami's flushed face.

 **XXX**

Luffy looked up as he heard the door to their cell creak open. In came the man who had managed to capture the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates - Vice-Admiral Nuro. The clicks of his leather shoes coming in contact with the ground resounded throughout the cell as Nuro walked slowly towards Luffy.

He was wearing a white button-up shirt complemented with white long pants, and he was draped with a Marine cape with the word "JUSTICE" emblazoned over it. His eyes were covered by the black sunglasses he was wearing and his brown hair was combed neatly to a side.

"I heard you required my assistance? Anything I can do for you?" Nuro asked sarcastically.

Luffy wanted to slug the Vice-Admiral so badly, however, he was aware that if he did that Nami would not be able to get medical assistance. It took him every ounce of effort to restrain himself.

"Please… bring my navigator to a doctor," Luffy managed to grit out.

As expected, Nuro was not one to comply out of sympathy. He raised an eyebrow and remarked, "Is that a tone you pirates use when you request for something? You try that in my world, you'll never get anything you want."

Luffy tried using a more polite tone the second time. "Nuro, would you please bring Nami to a doctor and help her?"

Nuro pretended to consider before he smirked, "Sure, but you have to kneel down in front of me and beg."

If Luffy wanted to punch Nuro before, the desire now was a hundred times stronger. However, Luffy managed to keep it in by reminding himself that all this was to ensure that Nami would be in safe hands.

Luffy unwillingly put Nami down on the ground and proceeded to kneel in front of Nuro. **THUD!** The sound of Luffy's knees hitting the floor could be heard as he bowed his head to Nuro. "Please, take Nami to a doctor and cure her!" Luffy begged.

"And… why should I do that?" Nuro asked slowly. **PTOO!** The sound of spitting could be heard as Nuro spat on Luffy's bowed figure. "You pirates disgust me. You have the cheek to ask for favours from your enemies."

Luffy beared the humiliation he was getting put through. He reminded himself that all of this was for the sake of Nami. He wanted Nami to be safe again. He wanted Nami to be by his side for the times to come.

" **RANKYAKU!** " Nuro yelled as he kicked the air hard enough to send a wind projectile towards Luffy. Luffy took the attack head on and was sent flying backwards. As he slammed into the wall, blood trickled down his chin. He slumped over and was left in a sitting position.

"Hmph… what a weakling. He couldn't even dodge that," Nuro commented. "Men, take the girl into the sick bay and have our medics look at her."

"Yes sir!" The guards complied immediately and carried Nami away. Nuro walked to the door and said, "You know, I don't get how a weakling like you could be worth five hundred million berries. I think the government accidentally printed a few zeros behind. Hahahaha." With that, he slammed the door and his footsteps slowly faded away.

Truth was, Luffy actually saw the attack from Nuro coming. He sensed it as soon as Nuro rose his leg. The time for him to dodge it was more than enough. However, he took it head on. For Nami. He knew that Nuro would not have given Nami the treatment if he had actually dodged the attack.

As Luffy leaned against the wall, he heaved a sigh of relief. The thought that ran through his mind now was : _Nami's finally safe now._

 **XXX**

 _In another part of the New World_

Roronoa Zoro was in the Crow's Nest of the Thousand Sunny lifting weights of more than ten times his own weight. His muscles bulged as he put all his effort into training. He blamed himself for the capture of his captain and navigator. He was training hard, preparing himself for battle.

They had found a lead of the course of the Marine ship from an island they had just passed by. Robin was navigating their ship to intercept the Marine ship. Zoro would like nothing more than to slice up the Vice-Admiral into pieces. He was on a short temper as he felt that he had failed as a First Mate.

Which was why he was so glad when he sensed a Marine ship nearing theirs. He finally had something to vent his anger on. He took his swords and jumped onto the deck from the Crow's Nest.

Without informing the rest of the Straw Hats, he unsheathed all three of his swords and stood to the starboard side of the deck, where the Marine ship was approaching from. " **Santoryu… Hyakuhachi Pound Ho!"** Zoro yelled as he sent three compressed air projectiles towards the silhouette of the Marine ship which was appearing in the distance.

The projectiles shot across the ocean towards the Marine ship, but just at it seems like it was going to slice the Marine ship into half, the projectiles were parried by a slash coming from the Marine ship.

Zoro narrowed his eyes as he knew the opponent has a certain level of skill to be able to parry his attack. "Oi guys! We have company!" Zoro called out, causing the rest of the Straw Hats to gather on the deck one by one. The rest of the Straw Hats were not very well off either. Gone were the antics of Usopp and Chopper, and even Sanji had stopped his habits of swooning over women except occasionally when he cooked something for Robin.

"Usopp, who's on that ship?" Zoro asked. Usopp hastily took out a telescope and peered through it. "Umm… it seems like it's the ship of… SMOKERRRRR!" Usopp cried in terror as he hugged grabbed onto Chopper for comfort. Zoro and Sanji tensed up as they knew Smoker was not an opponent which they could take down easily.

As the two ships came close enough, Zoro was standing on the railing, being in command as the captain was not around. Smoker was standing at the bow of his ship, and the two locked eyes with each other. The Straw Hats were ready to fight if the need arises. The tension was so that you could cut it with a knife.

Zoro broke the silence by asking, "Why are you here? We are not in the mood to entertain you."

Smoker replied, "I know. I come in peace. I saw Straw Hat where he was held captive, and he asked me to relay this to you. 'Do not come for me, if I do not make it back, Zoro will be in charge'. Those were his exact words. My advice would also be for you to stay away. It would be too dangerous."

With that, Smoker ordered his men to sail his ship away. "Thank you," Zoro simply said to the Marine ship that was gradually sailing further away. He was grateful that a former enemy was willing to relay his captain's message to him.

Zoro had come to a decision. He announced, "We will not be going for Luffy. We will wait for him at the next island. If he escapes, he has my Vivre Card to follow. With Nami by his side, they would be able to navigate to us."

The crew immediately broke out into protest. Most of them were in favour of going to rescue Luffy and they would be willing to brave the dangers along the way, but Zoro's decision was final. As the First Mate, he would not allow his Nakama to get into anymore danger.

 **XXX**

 _Back on the Marine Ship where Luffy is held_

Many days have passed, and Luffy was spending them drowned in loneliness. He realised how much Nami's company would be able to lift his spirits. Luffy was still leaning against the wall in his slumped position when he felt the boat decelerate gradually, before coming to a complete stop. A few moments later, a big and burly Marine swung open his cell door, holding a sea stone handcuff. "Come on, we have arrived at your destination," he said in a gruff voice.

The day had finally come. Luffy was at Impel Down.

 **A/N: Annnnnnnnnnndddddd that's all for this chapter! What will happen next? Will Luffy be able to overcome the hardships of Impel Down? Remember to review! Love you guys, signing off, Shironira-kun.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm back with another chapter. Sorry for the long wait, but I have exams coming up and I am trying to find time to write. Thanks all of you for your patience and for even reading this fic. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and remember to read and review!**

Chapter 4: Friend or Foe?

Darkness. That was the first thing Luffy's brain registered as he awoke. He could not see anything around him. He could feel it though. The presence of three other people near him. The three had strong auras, and Luffy could tell that they were far from weak. As Luffy started to regain his senses, he remembered what happened before he got to this cell.

 **XXX**

 _Luffy's Flashback_

As he was led onto the deck of the Marine ship. Luffy noticed the vast ocean surrounding the massive structure in the middle of nowhere. The location of Impel Down was situated in the middle of nowhere to prevent escape from the prison, however, it still has been done twice in history. Once had been caused by Golden Lion Shiki, a man said to be on par with the Pirate King Gold Roger, and another was caused by Luffy himself, when he entered the prison to save Ace and managed to escape.

However, this time was different. Luffy was the one captured this time. He was the one immobilized, the one who needed rescuing. He was stopped by the Marines on the deck of the ship. Awaited him was the new Warden of Impel Down, Ring, Vice Warden Hannyabal, Nuro, and a bandaged Kizaru.

Not long after, a female marine supporting a flushed Nami came on deck. She was still considerably ill, though she looked better than before. Luffy's eyes widened at the sight of his navigator. "NAMI!" he yelled in an attempt to wake her up.

"My, my, how sweet, Straw Hat," drawled Kizaru, "seems like I got a little careless with you and that swordsman of yours." He walked up slowly towards Luffy, who was glaring at him.

"What's up with that look?" Kizaru asked sarcastically. Without warning, he gave Luffy a hard punch to the face, and it ended up drawing blood. Normally, Luffy would have nullified the damage due to his powers and his Haki, however, being shackled in seastone cuffs had weakened him considerably.

Kizaru was still not done. He punched Luffy again and again and again. By the time he was done, Luffy's face was bleeding profusely. Kizaru tilted his Luffy's chin up and seethed with anger as he found the glare still present on Luffy's face. "Damn you…" he growled.

He then walked away from Luffy, the sounds of his shoes hitting the deck sounding excruciatingly slow. Luffy's heart sank as he realised what Kizaru was doing. He was heading towards the defenseless and vulnerable Nami. "OI! GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARD!" Luffy shouted as desperation started to rise within him. Nami was already so sickly, who knows what a hit from an admiral might do to her.

The rest on board the Marine ship looked in silence, anticipating what Kizaru might do next. The female marine cowered as Kizaru approached her and Nami. Kizaru took no heed of the female marine, his eyes only trained on Nami.

Luffy struggled, but the Marine holding Luffy was able to hold him tight as the seastone cuffs had taken a toll and Luffy and weakened him considerably. Kizaru ignored Luffy and raised up a fist.

The surroundings became suddenly became eerily calm. The wind stopped blowing and the seas were became peaceful. Then, without warning, a strong gust of wind was conjured and blown in all directions, together with a powerful shockwave, the centre of it being Luffy. " **NAMI!** " he roared. Luffy has used his Haoshoku Haki.

The Marines on the deck started falling one by one like dominos, until the only ones left conscious on the ship were Ring, Hannyabal, Kizaru and Nuro. Luffy, having knocked out the Marine restraining him, rushed Kizaru. As his legs were not bound in seastone cuffs, they were still able to support his insane speed. He imbued his feet in Busoshoku Haki and launched an attack towards Kizaru's face.

Kizaru had no difficulty in grabbing Luffy's leg and stopping it mid air. "My, my, don't get so scary, would you," he mocked.

Nuro walked forward and held the struggling Luffy in a tight grip. "Watch carefully, Straw Hat," he sneered.

Kizaru picked up Nami's body from the floor and held it up high. "OI KIZARU! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Luffy yelled as he struggled to get free from Nuro, but to no avail.

"Now, the consequences of opposing the Marines," Kizaru drawled as he raised up a finger and pointed it at Nami. It began to glow a bright yellow, a beam ready to shoot at any second. Just as Luffy thought it was over, someone said," I believe that's enough, Admiral Kizaru."

Luffy turned to the sound of the voice and found it to be the warden of Impel Down, Ring. It was the first time he had gotten a good look at the warden. The warden at first glance did not look like a fighter, he was thin and lanky and his height was almost half of Luffy's. He wore sunglasses over his face and had an oversized black coat on which ran all the way to his knees.

The glow from Kizaru's finger disappeared as he turned to Ring with a curious expression on his face. "What's the problem, Head Warden Ring?" he questioned.

Ring was unfazed by the admiral and replied calmly, "I do not like to see my prisoners being hurt, especially in front of me."

Kizaru took his attention off Nami and raised an eyebrow at Ring. "Why are you, a mere warden, trying to stop me?"

Ring looked at Kizaru and cooly said, "I believe we are at Impel Down now. At Impel Down, I hold the highest authority."

Kizaru pondered over this for a moment, unsure of whether to attack Ring. "Fine, have it your way. Take away the prisoners then," he said with a tone of finality.

As Hannyabal stepped up to pick up Nami and Luffy, Luffy glared and Kizaru and declared, "You'll pay for hurting Nami, Kizaru."

Kizaru gave no indication of having heard Luffy, but Nuro however snapped at Luffy to shut up and delivered a hard chop to Luffy's neck, knocking him out.

The last thing Luffy saw was the clear blue sky, and he wondered if he would see the sky again. Then he entered a world of darkness.

 **XXX**

 _Present_

Luffy decided to call out for Nami, even though he was pretty sure she was nowhere near him. "Nami?" Luffy called out into the darkness.

Silence. Ten seconds passed, then twenty, then thirty. Then, finally, a flat voice said, "Not sure who this Nami is, but she sure as hell ain't here."

The sound of footsteps could be heard, and not long later, the whole cell was flooded with light. Luffy instinctively shut his eyes to avoid being blinded by the light. When he opened his eyes, he realised that the cell was enormous. Like really enormous. It was about the size of a football field. However, it was unsurprisingly barren. It was just an empty space, with a small toilet at a corner.

Luffy saw that he was by the door of the cell, and there were three other people with him in it, all seated at the far end, as far away from the door as possible.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked as he walked up to them, unsure if they were friend or foe. As Luffy got closer, he was able to see two men and one woman sitting side by side. The two men were dressed similarly, both donning a dark colored combat jacket and combat pants. One had raven colored hair and his face was covered with scars, apparent evidence of his combat experience. The other man was completely bald, and he his facial expression apparently showed that he was bored as hell.

The woman, however, was dressed a little more skimpily, wearing a blue halter top and super tight jeans which revealed the beautiful curvatures of her body. Her white hair complemented well with her pale skin, and her face was smooth as silk. She was beautiful enough to turn Sanji to stone.

However, Luffy was not attracted by the woman, as he had eyes for Nami only. He was more curious about who these people were. His question had not yet been answered, though the eyes of the three unknown people scrutinized him, staring at him for ages.

Finally, the bald man spoke in a commanding tone, "Monkey D Luffy. Welcome to Level 7 of Impel Down."

Luffy, being naive, was shocked that they recognized him. "How do you know me? And doesn't Impel Down only have six levels?"

The raven haired man chuckled. "After your stunt the last time and Level 6 was revealed to the whole world, they built another level. And as to why we know you, anyone on the sea would know you, rising rookie of the Worst Generation."

Luffy knew that this people were strong, especially the bald head man. He detected no evil intent towards him, but who knows how that might change. "You still haven't answered my question. Who are you?"

The women answered, her silvery voice making her all the more sexy. "We are a trio known to the world as the Punishers, and we act of our own accord. We can wreck havoc, we can help people, we can do anything as long as we are feeling like it."

Luffy's face brightened up the moment she mentioned that they help people. He bowed respectfully and introduced, "My name's Luffy, nice to meetcha."

The bald man still had a bored expression on his face, and replied with a flat voice, "We already know. I am Jigoku, the man is Tengoku and the lady is Chikyu."

Luffy grinned his trademark grin. He had decided that these guys were not evil and they could make good allies. "Hey, can you guys help me to escape this prison?"

Jigoku raised his eyes and asked, "How do you know we are able to escape this prison? And why should we help you?"

Luffy answered with full of conviction, "I will be the Pirate King! I want to get my navigator and reunite with my crew to continue with our adventure. I can sense that you three are strong enough to get out of this prison."

Chikyu cracked a small smile and muttered, "Pirate King, eh? Been long since we've met someone with such conviction."

Tengoku also looked to be ready to offer assistance to Luffy. Jigoku, however, was not to be swayed so easily. He questioned, "How do we know that you won't be a burden to us in our escape? I suggest you try and fight me all out. If you manage to beat me, we'll help you."

Luffy frowned at the suggestion. "Wouldn't it be bad if we try to escape full of injuries?"

Jigoku shook his head. "Chikyu's got that covered. She has healing powers and can heal us back to our best after the fight."

Chikyu smiled at Luffy and raised a thumbs up. Luffy agreed as these people were his best chance of getting back to Nami and the crew.

Luffy and Jigoku stood facing each other in the cell while Tengoku and Chikyu watched curiously by the side. A man worth 400 million beri against their leader, who will emerge victorious?

Silence took over the cell as the Jigoku and Luffy stared at each other. Luffy raised up a right arm and commented, "Since I know you are really strong, I won't hold back." He started to pump blood through his body at a faster rate.

Jigoku watched in curiosity as Luffy's skin started to glow a familiar pinkish tint. Steam started erupting in huge amounts from his body. "Interesting…" Jigoku muttered.

Without warning, Luffy dashed towards Jigoku, imbuing his arm with Busoshoku Haki and delivering a right hook towards Jigoku's face. Jigoku parried the blow and aimed a kick towards Luffy's torso. Luffy sensed it coming and deflected it with a kick of his own.

This continued for several minutes, with the two of them exchanging blows at high speeds. Tengoku and Chikyu watched with a hint of approval as they witnessed Luffy being able to keep up. "Wonder if he will be able to keep up once Jigoku uses his power…" Tengoku whispered to Chikyu.

" **Gomu-Gomu No… Jet Gatling Gun!"** Luffy yelled as he launched a flurry of punches towards Jigoku. Jigoku was skilled and filled with experience, and managed to dodge each of Luffy's punches through minute twists and turns of his body. Luffy eventually stopped attacking and jumped back to catch his breath.

"You are not half bad after all," Jigoku commented, "I guess you deserve to face me at my best." Jigoku started to change. His ears started getting longer. His muscles began to enlarge as black stripes emerged all over his body, covering his arms, legs, and torso. A long tail grew out from the back of Jigoku's body and swished menacingly. "Behold the power… of the Tiger-Tiger Fruit!"

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 4_

Nami woke up to burning heat. Despite the fact that she was barely wearing any clothing, she was covered in her own sweat. The environment was sweltering, and it caused her throat to be parched.

Nami surveyed her surroundings. She was in a jail cell being confined with a few other female prisoners. They were all lying on the floor with tongues sticking out or simply staring into blank space. It was almost as if they had lost the will to live. Nami looked out of the cell and discovered that it was filled with boiling magma, the cause of the intense heat. Nami shuddered as she imagined falling inside there.

Her thoughts wandered to Luffy as she hoped that he was fine wherever he was. She desperately wanted him by her side so that they can get through this together.

Her thoughts of Luffy was interrupted by her throat screaming for some water. As Nami checked her own body for any belongings, she was relieved to find that her Clima Tact was still with her. The jailers must have thought it was a useless stick and decided to let her have it. A smile formed on Nami's face as she formulated a plan.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 7_

"The two have been going at it for ages now, yet both of them don't have a single scratch on them. The Straw Hat kid have impressed me," Tengoku conceded.

Jigoku had went into offense as he turned tiger form. He attacked Luffy time and time with his claws, but Luffy either managed to dodge them or deflect them with his Haki imbued arms.

Jigoku had also tried grabbing Luffy with his tail to render him immobile, however, Luffy recalled his experience with Lucci and he had gotten wise to the move, thus he saw it way before it came and managed to dodge it.

Currently, the battle was at a standstill as both Jigoku and Luffy were panting heavily, trying to catch their breath. Luffy raised up a palm at Jigoku, and boldly declared, "You won't be able to dodge this."

Jigoku raised an eyebrow, though it was not visible in tiger form. He replied, "Then I will not dodge this! I will take the blow!" He then raised up both bulging arms, forming an X-shape in front of his chest.

" **Gomu-Gomu No… Jet Pistol!"** Luffy roared as he sent a single swift yet immensely powerful punch towards Jigoku. The punch hit Jigoku's hands dead on, and at first the punch seemed to bounce harmlessly off Jigoku's arms, before a major shockwave emanated from that punch. It pushed Jigoku back a good few steps, before he was blown away by the force of the punch and hit the wall of the cell, creating a dent.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 6_

"Oi… what was that?" A prisoner cried as the prison rumbled. Cries of desperation arose from many cells as the prison started to shake. The prisoners thought that the prison was collapsing due to an attack.

The jailers looked at one another, apparently not bothered by the rumbling. "Probably just the Level 7 Inmates fighting again," one jailer commented to another.

The jailers felt no worry as it was a frequent occurrence and just went about their normal business.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 7_

Jigoku rubbed his head as he leapt out of the pile of rubble he had created. "Ow… that was a great punch, kid."

Tengoku and Chikyu was impressed to say the least. The punch had been so solid and powerful that it could Jigoku fighting at his best.

Jigoku positioned his claws such that they resemble a tiger pouncing. "It's time to end this," he told Luffy. Luffy could see that the fight was ending, and thus stretched his right arm all the way back, preparing to deliver his strongest blow.

Jigoku and Luffy started to run towards each other. Jigoku let out a loud roar as Luffy started to retract his arm.

" **Busoshoku Haki! Gomu-Gomu No…"**

" **Spirit of the Tiger! Fang of…"**

" **RED HAWK!"** Luffy roared.

" **THE SEVEN WORLDS!"** Jigoku thundered.

As Luffy retracted his Haki imbued arms, fire spun around it like a cyclone ready to burn whoever gets in its way. Jigoku had the spirit of the tiger behind his claws, multiplying the force of the attack. The two attacks met head on.

An enormous explosion happened when the two attacks collided, and sent another shockwave, this time so immense that the whole of Impel Down felt it.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 4_

Nami was delighted when she felt a shockwave course through Impel Down. She knew that it had to come from wherever Luffy was. She was glad that he was still safe, and most importantly alive.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 7_

Tengoku and Chikyu were in awe. The two fighters were still standing after such an impact. Luffy was bleeding from his forehead, while Jigoku's arms looked a bit charred. The two warriors panted heavily, exhausted after using one of their trump cards.

"Hey kid, who taught you your Haki?" asked Jigoku.

"Rayleigh-ossan," Luffy revealed. Even though he had been told to not reveal this, he knew that these three would not betray him. He knew it right from the start.

Jigoku nodded as he began to change back into his human form. "He has taught you well. We will help you to get back to your crew, come here and let Chikyu heal you up."

As Luffy exited his Gear Second form, he could not help but don a huge smile as he realised that he will be back with his crew in no time, and most importantly, by Nami's side.

 **A/N: And that's it for this chapter! Luffy has found himself some powerful allies in Impel Down. Will he meet up with Nami safely? Find out in the next chapter! And also, remember to review I try to improve myself based on all your reviews so thanks for the support! Last but not least, I am gonna do some promotion here hehe. I have written another fic, The Son of the Devil, it's an adventure fic so be sure to check it out if you are into that genre. Thanks! Signing off, Shironira-kun.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello guys! It seems like a long time since I'm here. I apologize for the long wait, but my schedule has gotten really busy these few months. I will definitely try to update it more regularly, so I'm sorry for the long waiting times. Please remember to leave a review, be it good or bad. If you feel that it is not to your liking, please leave feedback on how I can improve as a writer too! Alright enough with my talking. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

 _Impel Down Level 7_

It has been two days since the fight between Luffy and Jigoku. Chikyu was revealed to be an excellent doctor and healed both the fighters up almost to perfect condition. They were ready to break out of Impel Down. During the recovery period, plans were discussed, but Luffy was obviously not listening and had absolutely no idea what the plan was.

When it was time to carry out the plan, Luffy immediately jumped up and grinned. "I'll handle the first step!" he declared.

" **Gomu Gomu No… Pistol!** " Luffy extended his hand all the way back and imbued it with Haki. He then threw a forceful punch towards the only door of the cell. **BOOM!** A resounding boom echoed throughout the whole cell.

However, the door did not even sport a dent after getting hit by such a powerful punch. Luffy tilted his head to one side, confused. He then turned to Jigoku and asked, "How can that door be so powerful?"

Jigoku facepalmed. "Were you even listening to our discussion for the past two days?"

Luffy stuck a finger into his nose and shook his head.

Jigoku sweatdropped at such a blunt response. He certainly did not expect a man of a three hundred million bounty to have such a personality.

Tengoku called out, "Allow me to explain. We have tried attacks on the door, and none of it has worked. There is only one conclusion. That door is imbued with Haki that is so powerful that it is near impossible to break it down. Most likely, the three Admirals imbued their Haki into it together. Of course, we could try and combine our strength to break it down, but it would sap our energy and it definitely would not be beneficial in our prison break."

Luffy, after hearing the lengthy explanation, sported a blank look on his face. "Ah, so it's a mystery door."

Tengoku's jaw dropped at how bad Luffy was at understanding things. He surmised that Luffy's crewmates must be very intelligent to make up for the lack of brain cells in their captain.

Seeing at how her comrades were still in shock at Luffy's stupidity, Chikyu spoke up. "Yes, let's leave at a mystery unbreakable door."

Upon hearing that, Luffy frowned. "How are we going to escape if the only exit in the room cannot be used?"

Jigoku chuckled at Luffy's statement. "You have immense power, but you still lack the experience. When there are no exits available, the only other option is to make your own exit."

"So we are punching our way out of here? Alright!" Luffy grinned as he cracked his knuckles.

"Hmmm… nope," Chikyu said, "that would simply be foolish. Also, I think the walls here are pretty much unbreakable as well, seeing as this floor holds the world's most notorious criminals."

Luffy tilted his head in confusion. "Then, how are we going to get the heck out of here?"

Tengoku chuckled and stepped forward. "That would be using my power."

He walked slowly to the door and calmly placed his hand on it. Slowly, a dark ring of circle started to grow from the centre of the door. The cell was eerily silent as this dark ring grew, until it eventually became big enough for a person to walk through.

"This is my power, I ate the Portal-Portal fruit. I can create portals at will, and this portal here leads to the other side of this door, in other words our road to escape," Tengoku explained.

"Hmm… then why did they not slap a sea stone cuff on you knowing that you can escape so easily?" Luffy asked.

Jigoku smirked, "Simple. They do not know. Whenever we Punishers have a mission, we always act the same way. I will be the frontline, while Tengoku will be the information gatherer. His powers allow him to go anywhere at will, thus he is able to access many locations, even ones that are heavily guarded. Chikyu here will be our backline, healing us up and also erasing any record of Tengoku's power if he is ever caught on camera. So far, that has only happened once."

"Shishishishi! I can't wait to fight with such awesome people like you guys!" Luffy grinned, "Let's go!"

The four of them jumped into the portal without any hesitation, ready to create the third mass escape of Impel Down's history.

 **XXX**

The whole Impel Down shook as the quartet wrecked havoc starting from Level 6. As they dashed out of Level 7, they started taking out every single guard that got in their way. The world's most notorious criminals started yelling for the quartet to release them from their prison. Luffy paid no heed of them as his one main objective right now is to get to Nami and Nami alone.

Guards came in massive waves, even the guards who were assigned to Level 5 came down to help. However, Luffy's Gatling Gun took out a wave of them. Jigoku's speed came in handy as he dashed past another wave and wrung all their necks. Tengoku hid in the shadows, occasionally appearing out of a wall and pulling guards into a portal. Chikyu had a small dagger whom she had superb mastery over. A few slashes resulted in an entire wave of guards on the floor, writhing in pain over the deep cuts she had given them. The quartet was far too strong for any of these guards to handle. They were really determined to escape this Hellish Prison, and it looked almost as if nothing could stop them.

 **XXX**

 **Prrt...Prrt...Prrt...Clank!**

"Hello? This is Warden Ring speaking."

"WARDEN!" a desperate voice could be heard over the Den Den Mushi.

"HELP! HELP!" the voice continued to yell.

"Calm down, what's happening?" Ring asked in a composed voice.

"THE LEVEL 7 INMATES… HAVE ES- ARGHHHHHHHHH!" **Click!**

"Hello? Hello?" Ring repeated.

Ring sighed as he jumped off the high chair he was on. He waded his way over to his desk and pressed a large red button on it. Immediately, the a loud alarm sounded throughout the whole prison.

Ring grabbed his coat as he walked towards the lift. "Not this again…"

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 4_

The prison was thrown into chaos as the alarm sounded. Every level had desperate prisoners yelling for help and shouting for themselves to be released. It was no different on Level 4, Blazing Hell.

Prisoners all wanted to escape this sweltering heat and screamed as loud as they could with their parched throats. Nami smiled as she knew that the alarm meant that Luffy was safe and had started to plan an escape. Nami was not relatively thirsty due to the fact that she had caused rain to fall with her Cool Balls. She decided that it was time to carry out her plan.

She walked to the bars of the cage and called out, "Hey you!" As she saw a guard turn around at her call, she continued, "Yes you! Come here for a moment!"

She giggled inwardly as she saw the unsuspecting guard walking over to her. "What's the matter?" the guard questioned.

"Nothing… I felt that you might be thirsty. Do you want some water?" Nami offered.

The guard seemed to have an internal conflict as he debated whether to accept Nami's offer. In the end, the guard gave in and asked, "Where is it?"

"Above me!" Nami exclaimed and pointed upwards. As the guard looked up, he saw some dark clouds inside the cell, and soon enough, rain started to fall from it.

The guard's eyes widened as he desperately tried to reach some of the water, but was unfortunately unable to from his position outside the cell.

"Why don't you lean in as much as you can through the bars? I think you should be able to reach the water then," Nami suggested.

The guard took the suggestion and pressed his body on the bars of the cell as hard as he could. He then angled his mouth such that he was able to get a few gulps of water. As he stood back upright, he licked his lips and thanked Nami gratefully.

Nami smiled and waved the guard away. However, that smile was replaced by a playful grin once the guard was out of sight. For in her hands, were the keys to the very cell she was locked in.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 6_

Jigoku roared as he pounced on the guards in his Tiger form, leading from one body to the next. He left behind a long trail of bodies as the quartet attempted to reach the stairs to Level 5, with Jigoku leading the charge.

 **Crack!** All of a sudden, a loud crack sounded through the air and threw Jigoku back a good few steps, ending his onslaught. A cut appeared on Jigoku's snout, causing Jigoku to lick the dripping blood as he transformed back into his Human form.

A woman appeared from the shadows. She was wearing a skimpy hot pink devil-themed costume which only covered the top half of her breasts. She was also wearing a headpiece with horns and she held a pitchfork in her left hand. She has long and unkempt hair with bangs that covered her eyes completely.

At her appearance, all the guards immediately cheered, "Sadi-chan! We are saved! Sadi-chan is here to take care of the escapees!"

 **Crack!** All the guards were immediately silenced as Sadi cracked her whip. She sneered at Jigoku, "My, my, you little tiger. After all, all animals will be tamed under my almighty whip."

Jigoku grinned at the prospect of a stronger opponent. "An animal tamer eh? Let me show you that not all animals can be tamed!" Jigoku yelled as he began to transform into his Tiger form.

Chikyu however, placed a hand on his shoulder, stopping his transformation. "Let me handle that bitch," she smiled, "you take Luffy-kun and go ahead. He has someone whom he needs to find urgently."

Jigoku, upon seeing the determination in Chikyu's eyes, nodded. "Let's go, kid," he beckoned as he dashed past Sadi in a flash.

Luffy followed suit, but not before yelling, "Thank you, Chikyu-san!"

Chikyu smiled as she got into a fighting stance with her dagger poised to strike at any moment. "Now, why don't you try me?"

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 4_

Nami, using the keys she had stolen, had unlocked the door to her cell. In a flash, she had also electrocuted all the guards near her, knocking them out. She then proceeded to unlock the cells of many other prisoners, all desperate to escape and are willing to fight for freedom.

"This is going to be one hell of a big brawl…" Nami sighed.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 5_

Luffy, Jigoku and Tengoku had reached Impel Down Level 5, Freezing Hell. They all started shivering as the temperature here was extremely freezing.

"How...are...we...going to keep… ourselves warm?" Luffy chattered.

Jigoku was still shivering visibly even though he was in his tiger form with a thick fur coat to keep him warm.

All of a sudden, Tengoku's eye twinkled as he spotted prey. "One… second," Tengoku managed to say before he opened up a portal below him.

Tengoku suddenly reappeared about fifty metres away. He seemed to launch an attack on the snow, before appearing back beside Luffy and Jigoku with three warm looking fur coats.

Luffy and Jigoku accepted them greatfully. Luffy patted himself and grinned, "Ah! That's much better!"

"Where did you get these?" asked Jigoku.

Tengoku simply explained that he spotted some white wolves in the vicinity and thus teleported next to them and took them out. He then skinned them and wove a coat out of their fur.

"Nice thinking, let's moved on," Jigoku said.

As the three men trudged through the snow, the freezing winds were relentlessly beating on them. The journey felt endless as they braved the harsh conditions to reach the stairways to Level 4. In every single cell which the men passed by, frozen corpses lay inside, some even being reduced to bones. Only a few prisoners were alive, and even those were shivering uncontrollably. They had given up on living as they did not even make an attempt to beg the three men to let them out. Of course, the three men ignored the prisoners, with their only target being the stairway to Level 4.

 **XXX**

 _Marine Headquarters, Marineford_

"Akainu-san! Akainu-san!" A Marine yelled as he dashed into the office of the Fleet Admiral. Akainu raised an eyebrow as he looked at the Marine in annoyance.

"What is it?" Akainu asked, half wanting to blast the Marine out of his office.

"Sir! The alarm… in Impel Down… has rung!" The Marine struggled to get his words out as he panted heavily.

Anger started to boil inside Akainu. Under Fleet Admiral Sengoku, there was a major prison break in Impel Down, which was completely unheard of. He was definitely not going to let something like this again.

He immediately stood up and grabbed his coat. "Get me a ship with a Vice-Admiral and a crew on it. Open the Gates of Justice and inform Impel Down that I will be on my way to deal with the trouble," Akainu ordered.

"Wait!" Admiral Kizaru called out as he walked into the room, "Let me go instead. I have a feeling that I know who instigated the prison break, and I have some unfinished business with him."

Akainu did not even hesitate as he rejected Kizaru's request immediately. "Who was it that got beaten to a pulp the last time I sent him for a mission?" Akainu questioned mockingly.

"My, my, Akainu. If you want a fight just say, no need to resort to such low means," Kizaru drawled.

Akainu smirked and replied, "It would be disrespectful to my own honour if I agree to fight someone considerably weaker than me."

" **Yasakani no Magatama!"** yelled Kizaru as he sent a torrent of deadly light particles towards Akainu. However, all the light bullets passed through Akainu harmlessly and utterly destroyed the office of the Fleet Admiral.

Akainu warned, "Don't push your luck Kizaru." To the cowering Marine at the side after witnessing Admiral Kizaru's power up close, Akainu ordered, "Also get someone to repair this office. I want it done when I return."

"Yes sir!" The Marine stuttered as he ran off to carry out his orders.

Akainu then left the room without a word, leaving Kizaru behind in the wreckage of what was the Fleet Admiral's Office.

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 6_

 **Crack! Crack! Crack!** Sadi was relentlessly assaulting Chikyu with her whips, however, Chikyu managed to dodge every single blow with grace and ease.

"Is that all you got?" Chikyu said, "I really expected more of a challenge…"

Sadi yelled out in frustration as she continued to direct her whips to try and hit Chikyu. Chikyu wanted to get a decisive blow in and catch up with the rest as soon as possible. As soon as she dodged another attack from the whip, Chikyu yelled, " **Soru!"** and dashed into the personal space of Sadi.

Chikyu then raised her dagger and attempted to slit Sadi's throat. Sadi saw it coming long ago and raised up a leg to parry Chikyu's blow. Chikyu immediately aimed to knee Sadi's abdomen, seeing as she left herself open. She got a solid blow and send Sadi skittering back a few steps.

Sadi licked her lips as blood dripped down from the side of her mouth. "Not bad…" she complimented, "but it will take more than that to beat me!"

Sadi lashed out with her whip again, and as expected, Chikyu dodged it and managed to get close again. However, Sadi smiled and muttered, "Gotcha." With superb mastery over the whip, she pulled it all the way back such that it wrapped itself around Chikyu.

"I've got you now," said Sadi, "for attempting such a daring escape, I'll make sure you go through every single torture method in Impel Down." Sadi then pulled on her whips, causing the whips to tighten around Chikyu. Chikyu was forced to drop her dagger as she winced from the pain.

"Hahaha!" laughed Sadi, "now, let me show you another special feature of my whips."

" **Electrical Shock!"** yelled Sadi as she pressed a button on her whips. Immediately, strong electric currents flowed through the whips and shocked Chikyu into unconsciousness. _I've got myself into some deep shit now…_

 **XXX**

 _Impel Down Level 5_

The three men were nearing the stairway to Level Four. They had ran through Level 5 for a few hours, and had covered a huge amount of distance in that period of time.

"We should be reaching Level Four soon, I'll scout ahead," said Jigoku as he started to leap a huge distance with every step. Within a few leaps, Jigoku has disappeared out of sight.

 **CLANK!** All of a sudden, a loud metallic sound was heard as Jigoku was sent flying back towards Luffy and Tengoku. A large metal ring wrapped around him and pinned him to the floor.

Through the shadows, the trio could see a short figure wearing a way oversized figure trudging through the snow towards them.

As the snow cleared, they could see the short man sporting a serious expression, yet of one filled with anger.

"I am Ring, Head Warden of Impel Down. And you escapees will not go further. None of you will get past me!"

 **A/N: Uh-oh. Seems like Luffy and the Punishers have got tough battles to fight before they can escape the prison. Will they succeed? Remember to leave a review about the story! Hope you guys have enjoyed it, and I will update the next chapter as soon as possible! Thanks! Signing off, Shironira-kun.**


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hi all! Finally, another chapter is up… This story is coming to an end soon, about 2-3 chapters remaining? Damn, even I feel sad as I really enjoyed writing this story. It was planned to be something like a mini arc, so I didn't really want to make it that long. After this, I'll focus more on my other stories, so be sure to check them out if you haven't! And as always, remember to read and review. Enjoy!

On the way to Impel Down

Marines were scampering about the Marine ship that was bound for Impel Down. They did not want to make a mistake and suffer the wrath of Akainu. At this point in time, the ship was nearing the Gates of Justice, where it would travel the special current to Impel Down, reducing the travelling time by days.

"Send a message to headquarters and ask them to open the Gates of Justice!" yelled Akainu from the bow of the ship. He wanted the Gates of Justice to be open as soon as possible so that he could get to Impel Down quicker and stop the escapees.

"YES SIR!" The Marines saluted, before hurrying about to carry out his order.

A few minutes later, the Gates of Justice began to open. Akainu glared at the gates and clenched his fists tightly. "Straw Hat Luffy… You will not escape me again…"

XXX 

Impel Down Level 6

Chikyu woke up to herself being dragged on the floor. She was still drowsy from getting shocked by electricity. She tried to raise her hands up to massage her temple, but found them tightly bound by her side. Figures… She still has the whip wrapped around me and is dragging me to some cell, probably.

Fortunately, Sadi was completely oblivious to the fact that Chikyu was awake. She continued to walk forward without even turning back once, using her whips to drag Chikyu on the floor. Chikyu sighed, "Guess it's time for me to use that again."

Chikyu's hands, even though bound, were still in reach of the pockets of her jeans. She reached into it and pulled out two syringes with injection needles attached to it. One syringe contained bright green liquid, while the other contained a liquid with a fiery red color. Without hesitation, she stabbed them in her thighs.

For a moment, Chikyu lay on the ground motionless. Without warning, she reached up and grabbed the whips pulling her, and swung the whips in the other direction, causing Sadi to fly and hurtle into a wall. CRASH! The wall of Impel Down crumbled as Sadi crashed into it at full speed, slumping down to the ground.

Meanwhile, Chikyu stood up and dusted herself. She then grabbed the whips and unwrapped them from her body. Sadi stood up and looked at Chikyu with a shocked expression. "But… how? How are you still standing after taking a 10000 volt electric shock?" she cried.

Chikyu smirked and held up the syringes. "Did I ever mention that I am a doctor? I injected a healing liquid and an adrenaline liquid into me."

Sadi's expression immediately changed upon hearing that Chikyu was a doctor. "A doctor eh? People like you should know your place and not pick fights with people stronger than you."

"Pfft… Says the one who can't even handle a 10000 volt electric shock," Chikyu threw back.

"You bitch…" gritted Sadi.

Suddenly, Sadi took out a whistle from her chest area. "Prepare yourself, doctor," she mocked before blowing hard into the whistle.

Chikyu looked in amusement at the scene before her. Sadi was obviously blowing the hardest she can into the whistle, yet no sound was being produced. Or so she thought. Within seconds, she heard rumbling coming from every side of Impel Down Level 6.

Shit… what are causing those noises? She suddenly felt a presence behind her without warning. She had no time to think or react. Instinctively, she ducked down as a huge club flew over the place where her head was a few seconds before. The strength of the swing was so strong that it produced a huge wind which caused Chikyu's hair to fly around wildly.

Chikyu panted, aware of the fact that she could have died if she had paused to think of what to do. Turning around, she was faced by one of the weirdest and most hideous creatures she had ever seen. It was a mix between a Minotaur and a cow, yet it still managed to look really ugly.

Chikyu then felt two more presences appearing beside Sadi. To her left was something that looked like a… chihuahua? It held a rope in its hands, apparently wanting to use it as a weapon. To her right was a mix between a minotaur and a koala, another animal that looks ridiculously ugly. It wields two spiked knuckles in his hands, a weapon that would bring devastating damage if it manages to hit. Chikyu surmised that Sadi's whistle must be the one who called these animals over.

Sadi laughed out loud. "Behold, my Demon Guards! They will pummel you and kill you without any mercy. Attack!"

The three Demon Guards advanced towards her. Chikyu knew that she was surrounded and it would be hard for her to escape their attacks if they attack her together. Chikyu needed to find a way out of this situation.

The cow-like minotaur swung its club at her, however, it was at a really slow speed and dodging it was a piece of cake for Chikyu. As she jumped up to dodge, she saw the spiked knuckles flying at her. Chikyu narrowed her eyes as she did a backflip in the air to dodge the spike knuckles. PISH! Chikyu suddenly felt a burning sensation on her back. Sure enough, there was a deep cut running from her shoulders all the way to her buttocks.

She cursed as she realised that the chihuahua had done that. It was skilled enough to control the rope such that it acted like a whip. Chikyu gritted her teeth as she attempted to bear the pain. She knew that she would probably black out from the pain if she suffered from another hit like that.

Think Chikyu, think! There has to be something that I can do to defeat these guys! If I can't defeat the pets, then… I go for the owner!

Chikyu managed a grin as she realised that all she needed to do was take out Sadi, and these pets of hers would be aimless when there was no one to lead her.

She stood up and collected herself. She activated her brilliant ability of compartmentalization and pushed the pain to the back of her mind. She stuck a hand into her jeans pocket and focused.

"Soru!" Chikyu yelled. In a mere second, Chikyu had managed to dash past all of the Demon Guards and appeared right beside Sadi. Sadi was caught off guard and did not know how to react. In that short time span that Sadi blanked out, Chikyu grabbed Sadi's neck with one arm and pulled the other arm out of her jeans pocket. Her hands was clutching onto yet another syringe with an injection needle, however, the liquid inside was dark green and it was bubbling vigorously. Chikyu stabbed the needle into Sadi's neck and pressed down the syringe as hard as she could. As the liquid from the syringe entered Sadi, Chikyu knew that the fight was over. As soon as Chikyu let go of Sadi, she fell to the ground, unable to even stand. As expected, the Demon Guards immediately stopped coming for her and went away, presumably back to the areas where they were patrolling before they got summoned.

Chikyu shook her head. As a doctor, she wanted to help save lives, and not take them. However, some situations required her to kill. As such, she came up with a special kind of poison, a slow lasting one that can allow one that got poisoned to be saved within the next twelve hours.

As Sadi spasmed on the ground, white foam coming out of her mouth, Chikyu said, "The poison I just injected in you takes effect instantly. It prevents you from speaking and will give you some spasms. There might also be excruciating pain from time to time. However, be glad that this poison is slow lasting. You will live for the next twelve hours, and you better hope that someone finds you and saves you. Goodbye."

As Chikyu walked off, she stopped abruptly as she remembered something. "One more thing, I think I forgot to tell you that even though I am a doctor, I am a strong one."

That was the last thing Sadi heard and registered. She could not even hear the footsteps of Chikyu walking away as she went through her torturous ordeal.

XXX

Impel Down Level 4

All hell broke lose on Impel Down Level 4. By this time, Nami had already unlocked every single cell on this level, and all of the prisoners were rioting and attacking the guards. For them, every guard they take down means an additional weapon to aid them in their escape. Even though reinforcements were raining down from the above levels, the Level 4 prisoners were determined to escape this hell and were doing a good job of retaliating. Even the oppressive heat were unable to slow them now.

Nami was unsure where to go now. The most logical way would be to go up and towards the exit, yet Nami did not want to escape without Luffy. Nami made a choice. She started to run, away from the prisoners, away from the exit, away from freedom. Instead, she ran to the stairs to go downwards. Towards Luffy.

XXX

Impel Down Level 5

Ring was doing a miraculous job of keeping the three men in Level 5. Even though the stairway was in sight, the three of them could not get pass Ring. Ring managed to catch Luffy even when he used Gear Second to dash past him. Ring managed to hit Tengoku back when he tried to teleport behind him. Jigoku got it the worst. He tried to pounce past Ring, however Ring got a direct hit on him and used a metal ring to lock Jigoku down to the floor. No matter how Jigoku squirmed and struggled, he still could not escape the ring.

"Give up," Ring said. "There is no way you are getting past me. Prepare to be caught and sent back into your cell."

"Rings of Cerberus!" Ring roared. He conjured three rings that were floating menacingly behind him. They were poised to strike, ready to attack at high speeds anytime.

Luffy gritted his teeth. His Gear Second was one of his fastest moves. If he could not get past Ring using that technique, he knew his opponent was of considerable power. As of now, the three of them were trapped.

"You sure you like the odds?" Tengoku asked. "There are three of us, and one of you. The one trapped is you, not us."

Ring chuckled at that statement. "I did not become the warden of Impel Down because of nothing, you know. My power far surpasses that of the previous warden, Magellan."

As if to prove his point, the three rings behind him started to move at a faster speed, to the point where it was hard to see it with the naked eye.

Luffy activated his Observation Haki. He could sense the hostility of the rings and their intent to kill. However, his Haki was strong enough to sense when and where the ring would attack.

Luffy then charged at Ring. As expected, the rings flew towards him with lightning speed. However, Luffy already knew where they would hit due to his Haki. He ducked down and the first one whizzed by him. He swatted the second one away with his hand, while kicking the third one down into the snow.

"Gear Second!" Luffy yelled. Patches of pink appeared on his skin and steam started to pour out of him. He feinted a punch towards Ring's torso, but at the last minute dashed past Ring with the speed granted from Gear Second. As he pivoted behind Ring, he coated his right arm with Armament Haki. "Gomu Gomu No… Jet Pistol!" Luffy roared. As he shot a lightning fast punch towards Ring, it looked like it was going to connect for sure. However, just at the last moment, the three rings which Ring conjured managed to get in the way between the punch and Ring, taking the full force of the attack. Upon contact with the rings, they immediately dissipated into nothingness. However, they had done their job and stopped Luffy's punch.

Luffy narrowed his eyes at the fact that Ring was skilful enough to manipulate his rings such that they stopped his punch. He immediately knew that if he wanted to beat this guy, he had to go all out. The only problem was, he was still in Impel Down Level 5, and there were way more enemies waiting on the above levels. If he went all out here, his chances of escaping would go down to near zero.

Suddenly, Jigoku, who was pinned down the whole time, let out a huge laugh. "Wahahahahahaha! You think such puny rings can beat us?" He began to grow smaller and smaller as he changed back into his human form. Now that his size was considerably smaller, he was able to slide out of the ring with ease. As he stood up, a maniacal grin appeared on his face. "It has been long since we fought such strong opponents, let's have some fun shall we?"

Tengoku smirked, "I guess we have to show this warden the impeccable teamwork of the Punishers then. Luffy-kun, leave this to us. Head to the upper floors and clear the way."

Luffy stared a them for a moment. A grin started to emerge on his face. "Yosh! I'll leave this guy in your hands then!" He then made a beeline for the stairway to level 4.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Ring. He conjured another ring and sent it flying towards Luffy, aiming to pin him back down.

All of a sudden, a dark ring appeared behind Luffy. Tengoku sprang out from it and caught the flying ring effortlessly, before crushing it in his hands, causing it to dissipate. "Oh yes he does," Tengoku smirked.

Ring clenched his fists in frustration. He had let one past him. However, he could still make amends by subduing the two that were still on level 5. He made a vow to himself that they could only get past him over his dead body. The real battle had just begun.

XXX

Stairway between Level 4 and Level 5

Nami had finally got to the stairway. It had been relatively easy, as all the guards were either unconscious or had gone to the upper floors to help. She only met one or two guards which posed no challenge to her. As she sprinted down the really long flight of stairs, she was rewarded with a heartwarming sight. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. For she saw a raven haired boy wearing a straw hat running up the stairway, with a huge grin on his face. She was delighted that they were finally going to be reunited in this hellish place and they can continue this ordeal together.

However, that was not to be. BOOM! CRASH! Suddenly, the roof of the stairway collapsed, the rubble falling everywhere, catching Nami in it and separating Nami from Luffy.

A/N: Ah shucks, a cliffhanger. I'm really sorry for that. What will happen to Nami? Will Nami and Luffy get back together? Find out in the next chapter! Don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed it! (Haha. Like anyone enjoys cliffhangers). I apologize that it was a bit short, but I'll make it up with a longer next chapter! See you next time! Signing off, Shironira-kun.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi all! Finally, a new chapter for this story. I'm aware of my SUUUUUUUUUUPER long update timings and I really apologize for that. It's just so hard to find time to write during school terms. I hope that you guys can forgive me for that Also, there is a new term I will be using in this story and all of my other stories, and that is Shaved. Basically it means Soru in the manga/anime, where a character kicks the ground 10+ times a second to make himself/herself move extremely fast. Using Shaved makes it way easier to describe fight scenes, so keep this in mind! Alright, enough of me talking, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 _Stairway between Impel Down Level 4 and Level 5_

When Luffy saw the steps collapse on Nami, it was almost as if his heart stopped. His beloved, crushed under falling rubble. What made it worse was that the smoke created did not even allow him to see. He willed himself to use his Observation Haki. He could make out Nami's life form under the rubble, however there was one other person walking towards him. Luffy tensed up as he knew that if the man was looking for a fight, he would have to end it fast to get to Nami as soon as possible.

A tall man emerged from the smoke. The man wore a head cloth that was covered in yellow and green stripes, and he had a huge belly. Tiny demon like wings were on his back and he carried a menacing looking pitchfork on his right hand. He was none other than the Vice-Warden, Hannyabal.

Luffy glared at him, and spat, "Did you have to get the rubble to land on Nami?"

Hannyabal grinned and smirked, "If you care for her that much, why not come and get her?"

In an instant, Luffy Shaved towards Hannyabal, in Gear Second form and ready to end the fight in a single blow. " **Gomu Gomu No… Jet Pistol!"** he yelled as he shot a fist faster than the speed of light at Hannyabal. As expected, the punch connected solidly with Hannyabal's head and caused his head to snap back with huge force.

However, instead of crumbling down, Hannyabal punched Luffy back with an equal amount of force, causing Luffy to take the unexpected hit head on. Luffy flew and slammed into the side of the prison walls. Hannyabal then laughed, "Don't expect me to be as weak as I was two years ago. I have gotten way stronger than that. My _Tekkai_ has improved considerably too."

As Luffy got up, he wiped the blood dribbling down his chin. _Damn… this guy has improved drastically. It's not going to be easy taking him down fast… but for Nami I'll do it!_

Luffy stood up and stared at Hannyabal with a serious look. " **Gear Second!"** He pumped himself up once more, and dashed towards Hannyabal faster than the speed of light. He stretched his arms back as far as he could. " **Gomu Gomu No… JET BAZOOKA!"** Luffy roared. His arms came flying back towards Hannyabal and it hit him squarely in the stomach. Even though Hannyabal used his Tekkai, he was simply not strong enough to stay on his feet and was sent flying away.

Luffy immediately rushed to the pile of rubble and punched a hole in it, careful enough not injure Nami in the process. His eyes widened at the side before him. Nami lay unconscious, with some blood dribbling down her mouth. She had numerous cuts throughout her body due to her skimpy clothing. Immediately, Luffy feared for the worst. "Nami!" He cried desperately. He picked her up and shook her, trying to wake her up.

Unfortunately, she did not wake up. Looking at her pained expression, Luffy's heart ached like never before. He would give anything to have Nami survive through this. However, he had no time to stay idle. Guards were beginning to swarm the area. Luffy's rage started to rise.

He stood up and picked Nami up gently, putting her in a position such that he was piggybacking her. His mind flashed back to the time on Drum Island, where they were in a similar position. _I got you to safety that time, and I will get you to safety this time._

"Just sleep tight, Nami. When you wake up, it'll all be over," Luffy murmured. With that, he unleashed a powerful wave of Conqueror's Haki, knocking out every single guard on the stairway. He ran up the stairway, aiming to get out of Impel Down and get Nami to Chopper as soon as possible.

As he jumped up the stairway to Level 4, he was surprised to see chaos. He had not expected the prisoners of this level out and trying to escaped. He smirked as he realised that it must be Nami's doing.

Luffy took advantage of the chaos and dashed through both guards and prisoners. He wanted to bring Nami away from the burning heat as soon as possible. Screams could be heard all over ass guards and prisoners clashed.

Suddenly, a prisoner in his black and white striped uniform pointed at Luffy and called out, "Isn't he Monkey D Luffy? EVERYONE FOLLOW HIM FOR A CHANCE TO ESCAPE!" All the prisoners immediately looked in Luffy's direction. There was a stunned silence for a second, before the prisoners suddenly cheered. They picked up whatever weapon they could find lying on the floor and started attacking the guards with renewed vigour before following behind Luffy.

Luffy sweatdropped as it was exactly a repeat of his previous escape from Impel Down. _At least the guards will all be cleared for me…_

All of a sudden, he heard someone screaming in surprise, "MUGIWARA?!"

Luffy turned around to find a familiar face with a familiar big red nose. "BUGGY?!"

As they looked at each other with surprised expressions, Luffy suddenly asked, "Are you an idiot? We got out the other time and you wanted to come back here?"

"YOU'RE THE IDIOT! DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CAME BACK WILLINGLY? DIDN'T YOU DO THE SAME?" Buggy screamed.

As the two continued bickering, the rest of the prisoners sweatdropped as they watch the scene. Suddenly, Luffy grabbed Buggy's blue hair and and his legs with each hand and pulled as hard as he could. This caused Buggy's powers to activate and split his body in to half.

"WHAT WAS THAT FO-AHHHHHHHHHH!" A pitchfork came flying past the gap between Buggy's body at top speed. Buggy's eyes popped out of his socket as he realised that he would have died. However, he recovered quickly and pointed to himself, "Hehe. The great Buggy-sama has got it all covered. Such a weak attack won't even scratch me!"

The prisoners all looked at Buggy in awe and admiration. "WOW, BUGGY-SAMA! YOU'RE SO STRONG! WE'LL FOLLOW YOUR LEAD OUT OF IMPEL DOWN!"

Meanwhile, Luffy was all tensed up as he knew that there was only one person in the prison who used a pitchfork. Hannyabal was back. He knew that he would not be able to fight him without risking Nami getting injured.

As Hannyabal walked out of the shadows, he went over and picked up his pitchfork. He pointed the pitchfork menacingly at Luffy and roared, "MUGIWARA LUFFY! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE ME THAT EASILY!"

Luffy gritted his teeth as he knew that Hannyabal would be a bother. He had to fight Hannyabal without risking Nami getting injured. He had to end the fight fast as Nami won't last long in this sweltering heat. Luffy was also unable to place Nami on the burning ground as it might risk hurting her more. He was unable to use his Gear Second as Nami's body was not used to such extreme speed and he might end up killing her by rupturing her internal organs. He had one hell of a tough fight in front of him.

Suddenly, an endless wave of guards appeared behind Hannyabal from the above levels. In order to avoid fighting Hannyabal, who was obviously the strongest, Buggy pointed at the guards and yelled, "MEN! FOLLOW ME AND TAKE OUT THE GUARDS WITHOUT FEAR!"

The prisoners gave a battle cry as they dashed past Luffy and Hannyabal, and prisoners and guards began clashing once more.

Luffy looked at Hannyabal and asked, "Is there no way you are letting me leave?"

Hannyabal looked at Luffy and replied seriously, "I would like to, but my job dictates me not to. I'm sorry, but I have to do this!"

With that, Hannyabal suddenly Shaved in front of Luffy, trying to stab his pitchfork into Luffy. Luffy avoided the attack by backflipping, but by doing so, he almost caused Nami to fall off. Luffy wrapped Nami tighter around him. Having Nami on his back really limited his flexibility.

Hannyabal began to assault Luffy relentlessly. He would Shave around Luffy and attack with his pitchfork, causing Luffy to dodge at the last second or infuse his arm with Haki and block it. All of a sudden, after Luffy parried a blow of Hannyabal's, Hannyabal suddenly launched a lightning fast kick towards Luffy's midsection. Luffy was not able to dodge without putting Nami at risk, and took the solid hit head on.

Luffy staggered backwards, trying to gain his bearings as soon as possible. Before he could recover, Hannyabal Shaved behind Luffy and stabbed his pitchfork at Luffy. There was only one problem. Between Luffy and Hannyabal lay an unconscious Nami.

 **XXX**

Buggy's eyes widened as he saw Hannayabal stabbed his pitchfork, aiming at Nami. All of a sudden, he saw Luffy turn around and took the stab in his stomach. Blood started seeping out of the wound, but he had saved Nami. Luffy grabbed the pitchfork that was currently impaled in his stomach, and glared at Hannyabal with as much willpower as he could muster. Hannyabal kept a poker face as he stared at Luffy head on. The atmosphere was electrifying.

Buggy knew that in order for him to have a chance to escape this prison, he needed the help of Luffy. He realised that the navigator was weighing him down as she was unconscious. He called out, "MUGIWARA! LET THE GREAT BUGGY-SAMA TAKE CARE OF THE GIRL FOR YOU!"

Buggy floated over with his powers and attempted to take Nami away from Luffy. Before he could do that, Luffy gripped his arms tightly and whispered, "Do not let her get even a single scratch."

Buggy felt a chill go down his spine, but waved the feeling away. "HAVE NO FEAR! THE GREAT BUGGY-SAMA WILL KEEP HER SAFE!" Immediately after, he was slashed from behind by a guard but survived due to his powers. "SCREW YOU!" Buggy yelled and proceeded to knock him out and return to his own fight, with the unconscious Nami now on his back.

 **XXX**

Luffy now pulled the pitchfork out of his body and jumped away from Hannyabal. "Time to fight properly now…" he muttered, " **Gear Second!"**

The familiar pinkish tint appeared on his body and steam began to hiss around him. He Shaved towards Hannyabal and started attacking him with a flurry of quick punches. Hannyabal was able to keep up with Luffy's speed and countered the blows expertly with his pitchfork.

Luffy jumped back and immediately infused his arm with Armament Haki. " **Gomu Gomu No… Jet Pistol!"** he roared as he sent a lightning-fast punch towards Hannyabal. To his surprise, Hannyabal managed to deflect the blow by spinning his pitchfork so fast that Luffy's punch was unable to get through it.

 _In that case…_ " **Gomu Gomu No… Jet Gatling Gun!"** Luffy roared and relentlessly sent punches that were invisible to the naked eye towards Hannyabal. Hannyabal was not able to deflect the punches and took all of the attack head on.

After Luffy had ended his attack, he saw that Hannyabal was still standing due to his Tekkai. Luffy then stretched his arms as far back as he could and infused it with Armament Haki again. " **Gomu Gomu No… JET BAZOOKA!"** His arms shot back with unreal force and it connected solidly with the midsection of Hannyabal.

However, before it connected, Hannyabal muttered, " **Tekkai… GOU!"** (Stronger Tekkai) As he took the hit, he could still feel excruciating pain spreading from his midsection area, but it was not enough to take him out of the fight yet. He was still able to stand even though his midsection area was in immense pain.

Both fighters panted from exhaustion, glaring at each other. Luffy then calmed his breathing and confidently told Hannyabal, "You made the wrong choice in trying to hurt Nami. The next move will take you out."

In his Gear Second form, Luffy Shaved towards Hannyabal and feinted a punch. As Hannyabal raised his pitchfork to block the punch that would never come, Luffy Shaved behind Hannyabal and threw him up as high into the air as possible. Hannyabal was unable to do anything as he flew up high in the air.

Luffy then bit his finger and blew into it. " **Gear… Third!"** As Luffy's right arm began to inflate like a balloon, he infused it with Armament Haki, making his giant arm like its coated in black.

"THIS ONE'S FOR NAMI!" he roared, " **GOMU GOMU NO… GIGANT PISTOL!"** He launched his giant hand towards the falling Hannyabal. Hannyabal could only look on as he knew that even his strongest Tekkai would be unable to withstand the blow. As Luffy's punch connected with Hannyabal, he did not stop but instead continued applying pressure. This caused his arm to slam Hannyabal into the walls of Impel Down really hard.

As Luffy retracted his arm, Hannyabal fell, unconscious, into the pools of magma that dominated the whole of Level 4. Luffy had won the fight. All around the Level, the prisoners had managed to gain an advantage over the guards and were able to take most of them out.

There was just one problem now. When Luffy's hands struck the walls of Impel Down, he created a huge crack in the wall. And since Impel Down was underwater, seawater began gushing into the prison at a steady rate. What had Luffy done?

 **A/N: And that's all for this chapter! I didn't really like the Hannyabal character in the canon series, thus I decided to kill him. (Or Did I? XD) I'm sorry to those of you who really liked him though. I'm also sorry for making Luffy seem a bit OOC in this chapter but it had to be done to showcase how great his love for Nami was. Lastly, remember to leave a review! See you next time! Signing off, Shironira-kun.**


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